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Blargipedia:Handbook for the Humor-Impaired
Do you want to write an article for Blargipedia? Sure, we all do. But how do ya do it well? That's what this Handbook for the Humor-Impaired is for. Hi, I'm Arther Fizzydrink. When the folks at Blargipedia asked me if I'd host their Handbook for the Humor-Impaired, my first thought was, "Is there a lunch included?" Well, sure enough, they used their gnarly Sith powers to read my mind, and before you can say "*''mumblegrumblemumble*," they'd set up one helluva spread. I mean deviled eggs, salmon cakes on little poppyseed crackers, a whole big thing of Lombax yogurt... Oh, and these fantastic little ham thingies, where they roll up the ham and it's got cream cheese in there, with chives and— Oh—I'm being told I should get on with it. So without further ado, let's dive right in and gorge ourselves on the '''Blargipedia Handbook for the Humor-Impaired'. How Do I Be Funny? First of all, if you think you're not funny, you're probably not funny. (At least not intentionally.) Far more people erroneously believe they are funny than the other way around, or vice versa as we fancy educated types like to say. That's not meant to discourage you! If you think you're funny, you probably have potential at the very least. No, the truly discouraging part is that nobody can tell you how to be funny (or funnier). "Dying is easy, comedy is hard," as some famous and probably dead person said. Consistently successful humor is not an easy thing to produce; that's why stand-up comedians make the big bucks. (That was a joke. Stand-up comedians make less than teachers. Sad really, seeing as how you learn more from the former. But I'm rambling again.) What we can tell you is that there are certain techniques that usually produce humorous results. Some of them are listed below. *''Be unpredictable.'' Toy with your readers. Mislead and surprise them. Gently caress their thighs. *''Start normal, but get more ridiculous.'' Any good farce starts with a fairly straight set-up, then gets nuttier and nuttier. *''Pull a switcheroo.'' Two elements in a sentence commonly used in one sequence can sometimes be funny when used in the opposite sequence. SOMETIMES. This isn't an easy thing to pull off. Neither is the next one. *''Use layered jokes.'' Truly sublime humor is funny on multiple levels, or is funny and then funnier yet. Example: "Megacorp overs a very generous sperm package" If you have to think about it for a second, it's often funnier as a result. How Nonsensical Should I Be? Go easy on the nonsense. Just because Blargipedia is loaded with crazy stuff doesn't mean articles should lack structure, coherence, and clarity. The least funny people I've known were those who said random goofy stuff when they perceived one of those moments that a truly funny person would have exploited to actually-comic effect. Humor that's close to reality, but tweaks it a little (sometimes barely at all), is usually funnier. Some of the funniest people I've known had a habit of saying humorous things that were so close to the truth that, months or years later, they were the truth. (This is why many humorists are deeply pessimistic.) What Sort of Style Should I Use? Blargipedia is nominally an encyclopedia, and many (if not most) of our articles are encyclopedic in style. But yours need not be. Often, however, a more dry, professional tone makes the content funnier than if (for example) you were to write "Clank is gay lolz." Especially if you are parodying anything at Ratchet & Clank Wiki (we have a few articles that do), it's best to mimic Ratchet & Clank Wiki's encyclopedic (and occasionally pedantic) style. There's a reason British humor (excuse me, humour) is so beloved: it gets a lot of mileage out of the stereotypical British pomp and stuffiness. Sometimes, however, a more casual and conversational tone is appropriate. We here at Blargipedia encourage writers to experiment with a variety of styles, but when in doubt, to fall back on encyclopedic tone as a baseline. This document, for example, uses a somewhat more one-on-one, personal tone, which better befits the purpose of the Handbook and allows me, Arther Fizzydrink, to share tasty tidbits with you, the reader. It's also worth noting that a willfully unprofessional tone, riddled with spelling errors and unnecessary punctuation, is not going to be funny in most cases. Category:Help